More Than This
by GracieHartley
Summary: Ella Pieterse and Liam Payne have been best friends their whole lives, but slowly things started to change. But, even though their feelings are mutual, it's going to take a lot of effort for these two to get their happily ever after.
1. Chapter 1

"Thank you _so_ much for cleaning out my pencil case. I would have absolutely died if you hadn't."

My best friend, Gemma, laughed as we stood at our lockers, putting away our pencils, pens and erasers that we had just used in our English exam.

"There were like a thousand random bits of paper. It was like a mini stationary bomb went off."

I gave her a pointed look. "It wasn't that bad, Gem."

She smiled. "Really, Ella? Was it _really_ not that bad?"

I laughed. "You make me sound like such a slob."

Gemma rolled her eyes. "That's because you are, babe."

"I'm not _that_ bad." I said, half jokingly, half defensively.

Gemma laughed, closing her locker door. "I'll see you at dancing tomorrow." She strode off down the hall to find her younger brother, Harry, calling out "love you!" behind her as she did.

I laughed, taking my bag out of my locker. Just as I was about to close it, a pair of hands covered my eyes. "Guess who is now free this afternoon?"

I smiled. "Practice is cancelled?"

Liam took away his hands, turning me around with one hand while using the other to close my locker door. "Yup, I'm all yours."

"Guess it's my lucky day then. I'm thinking movies and junk food at my house?" I grinned, walking backwards towards the exit.

He took my hands, steering me away from anything I could potentially crash into. "Sounds perfect."

I turned around, releasing one of my hands from his grasp. We walked to my house, stopping at the corner store on our way.

In the candy isle of the store, Liam automatically reached up for the strawberry licorice, my favourite. I smiled; remembering the little details about me was something he was way too good at.

As we turned into my street, I spotted my neighbours out in their yard. Louis, the eldest and only son, was a couple of years older than Liam and me and was like a brother to me. Two of his younger sisters, Daisy and Lottie, ran up to us.

"Louis has a school play on tomorrow night that Mum and Dad are going to watch, and they wanted me to ask you if you could pretty please babysit Daisy, Felicite and Phoebe." Lottie asked as Daisy gave me a hug.

I grinned, nodding. "Sure, that's no problem. What time do you want me over?"

Lottie smiled thankfully. "Like, five thirty?"

Liam started playing with my hair before poking at my waist. "Liam, stop fidgeting or I'll send you home" I said disapprovingly.

"You love me." He smiled, throwing an arm around my shoulders. "Can't get enough of me."

I rolled my eyes at him, his only reply a satisfied smirk.

"You make a cute couple" Daisy said approvingly.

I went to explain to her that we weren't a couple, but then gave up. I was sick of correcting people.

"Yup, that's us. I'll see you guys tomorrow night. Come on, Liam." I took his hand from around my shoulders, leading him to my front door and inside.

He closed the door behind him, turning around to face me with a confused expression on his face. His admittedly gorgeous face.

"Why did you say we were together?" He didn't seem mad, just confused.

I shrugged, sitting down on the couch. "I didn't feel like standing there for two hours explaining why we weren't together."

"Oh okay" he said, sounding almost disappointed.

He sat down next to me on the couch, leaning back and stretching. His shirt rode up a bit, leaving me unable to _not_ notice the sliver of chiselled abs that he worked so hard to maintain.

He sat up straighter, putting an arm around my shoulders and pulling me into his side.

The weird thing was, we acted like a couple even though we weren't. Daisy wasn't the only one under the impression that we were a couple. And I knew for a fact that I was the reason that at least ten girls hadn't asked him out.

Not that I had a problem with that. I didn't want him dating some brainless girl who only liked him for his looks, anyway.

"So, I heard a rumour today about Paul Tatum today." I inwardly smiled, he was such a gossip.

"What about?" I didn't really care that much, Paul Tatum was a prat; I only cared because Liam was telling me.

"Him liking you" he sounded disapproving, almost angry.

"Calm down, it's not like I would ever like him anyways. He's a complete and utter prat."

He seemed relieved, which was weird. We had both hated Paul since we were six, why would he think I would start liking him now.

"You'd tell me if you liked someone though, right?" I didn't want to answer that, so I chose another angle instead.

"Why are you all of a sudden interested in my non-existent love life?"

He shrugged, "I don't know. I just don't want you dating some douche."

I rolled my eyes, slightly disappointed. "Don't worry, Liam. You're the only guy in my life."

He smiled, seemingly satisfied. "Good. Let's keep it that way."

I laughed. "It works both ways too. I don't get a boyfriend, you don't get a girlfriend."

He smiled. "Deal."

I held out my pinkie. "Pinkie promise?"

He linked his pinkie with mine, something we had been doing since we were toddlers. "Pinkie promise."

My parents were away on a work trip for the next week, so Liam invited himself over for the night. It wasn't unusual; my parents were out of town most of the time, so Liam was over all the time.

He went to sleep in the guest room, which he frequented so often that it was pretty much his. After midnight, I felt him slide into the spare side of my bed.

"What are you doing?" I mumbled. It wasn't uncommon for him to sleep in my bed, but lately something had changed between us and it felt like it signified something other than two best friends having a sleepover.

"I couldn't sleep," he murmured. Instinctively, I moved closer to him, letting him wrap his arms loosely around me.

I woke up like that, as usual, but this time it felt wrong. Completely right, but wrong because it wasn't really the way it seemed.

I slipped out of Liam's arms, going downstairs to make breakfast.

Liam fell into a seat at the kitchen table, his eyes instantly closing as his head fell to rest on his crossed arms. "Pancakes?" he mumbled, half asleep.

I couldn't help the smiled that made its way onto my face. "Yes, pancakes."

He made a sleepy, half-hearted at a fist pump. "Yay for pancakes."

I ran my fingers absentmindedly through his hair as I set a plate of pancakes in front of him. He lifted his head slightly, sliding the plate closer.

After breakfast, we watched the news. A weird thing for two teenagers to do, but for some reason we always watched it together whenever he was over. Gemma said we were like an old married couple.

I went to get changed, bringing down an old hoodie of Liam's that I had stolen for him to wear.

I found an old pair of jeans that he had forgotten to take home once and gave him those too. This wasn't unusual; I was always stealing his jumpers and he generally left an item of clothing whenever we actually planned a sleepover and he brought clothes.

Liam and his best mate, Zayn, planned to play basketball at the park at ten, so I called Gemma and told her to come too.

At the park, Gemma walked over to me, linking our arms together and pulling me away from Liam.

"When are you two just going to make out already?" She whispered into my ear, winking.

I groaned, pushing her away. "Shut up, Gem."

"You love me."

I rolled my eyes. "What is with everyone and assuming I love them? "

She raised an eyebrow. "Did Liam seriously…?"

I shook my head. "No, jokingly."

She looked disappointed before cheering up as the boys got ready to play. "Yay, time for some shirtless boys."

I laughed. "I swear, you and your brother are the horniest people I have ever met."

Gemma grinned. "Don't you forget it, baby."

We sat on the swings next to the court, watching them play. I couldn't help but stare at Liam's shirtless physique. What was _wrong_ with me?

It used to be that Liam and I were like siblings, inseparable. But lately, the thought of being his sibling just grossed me out.

"Come on, Liam. Stop staring at your girlfriend! My grandma could shoot better than that!" One of the boys taunted Liam, and I looked up to see him quickly avert his gaze from me.

"Shut up, man." Liam said sullenly, stealing the ball back of the other team.

"Why don't you get your girlfriend to come shoot for you instead? Even she'd probably get it in."

Liam looked furious, but I noticed that he didn't deny me as his girlfriend. "Don't talk about Ella like that." He turned to me. "Elle, want to come shoot and prove this prick wrong?"

I raised an eyebrow at him, confused. But I stood up, walking over to him. He glared at the other boy before handing me the ball and taking hold of my hips, turning me around to face the net. "Get this in for me, Ellie. Please."

I looked up at him, he was acting really strange. He stood behind me, taking hold of my hand and using his other hand to grip my hips. Together, we shot a three-pointer.

He looked over at the boy, triumphant. "Still say she can't shoot?"

A few hours later, we were back at my house, eating from a container of ice-cream with forks. Liam had a strange fear of spoons, and I had adapted to eating with spoons at little as possible.

Liam stood next to me, one arm around me holding onto the counter on the other side of me. He kept glancing at me, and it was starting to bug me.

"Why do you keep staring at me?" I blushed, putting my fork down.

He raised his hand to wipe away a smudge of ice-cream from the corner of my mouth. I felt my cheeks redden and looked down at the floor. He sighed. "Nothing."

I looked up when I heard the tone of his voice. "Liam? Is everything alright. You've been acting strange."

He groaned, running his fingers through his wavy honey-brown hair. He pulled me closer to him, hugging me and resting his chin on the top of my head. "Nothing, Elle. I'm fine. Just dandy."

I looked up at him. "No, you're not. Why won't you tell me what's wrong?"

He tightened his grip on me, staring into my eyes. "Because I don't want to screw things up."

I knitted my eyebrows together, confused. "Screw what up? Just tell me, Liam."

He refused to tell me. He just stared at me for a few seconds before raising his hand and placing it on my cheek.

I tried not to get my hopes up, but inside I was hoping that his dilemma was what I thought it would be.

I managed to murmur 'Liam' before he leant down and kissed me.


	2. Chapter 2

I stood still, unresponsive, as Liam kissed me. My brain couldn't seem to work. The shock of it all had wiped my mind blank.

Just as I was about to find the will to kiss back, Liam pulled away, muttering "sorry" as he walked out of the house.

I stood rooted to the spot for a few moments before running after him, but I couldn't find him anywhere.

I saw Lottie and Louis standing in the driveway of their house, washing the car. I ran over to them.

"Did you see where Liam went?"

Louis winked at me. "Lover's quarrel?"

I glared at him. "Seriously, Lou."

Lottie shook her head. "No, we didn't see. Sorry, Elle. You're still coming over tonight to babysit, right?"

I nodded my head. "Yeah. Five thirty, right?"

She nodded, smiling.

I pointed at her. "You better video this goof here in the play, otherwise I will be very upset."

Louis smiled, before pretending to look hurt at my 'goof' comment. "Love you too."

I rolled my eyes. "You know I love you." I waved at them both before going back inside, knowing that Liam was long gone.

I got dressed for dancing, meeting Gemma at the studio.

"So, have you and Liam made out yet?" She asked, as per usual. But this time, I couldn't just give my usual outright no.

"Not exactly" I mumbled, taking the piece of chocolate she handed me.

She very nearly choked on her chocolate. "So _something_ happened?"

I nodded. "He kissed me."

She stared at me for a long moment. "Well, finally. Did you jump him?"

I rolled my eyes. "No, you horny harlot. I was in shock, so I did nothing. Nada. Zip, zilch, zero."

She groaned. "This is not good."

I sighed, taking a whole row of chocolate. "Tell me about it."

After dancing, I went home to get changed before making my way over to the Tomlinson's. I spent the night watching Disney movies with the girls, something that only served to remind me of Liam.

The next day, I didn't see Liam at all. Usually, he would come and force me to go outside instead of sleeping all day like I wanted to.

I finished off the container of ice-cream, going to eat with a spoon to spite Liam for not coming for me, but I couldn't do it. If felt like betrayal, which was ridiculous.

On Monday, Liam sat waiting on my doorstep as usual, a packet of strawberry licorice in his hands. "Morning, Elle. Ready for a fun-filled day of school?"

I stared at him for a long moment. Was he _really_ just going to pretend that he'd never kissed me? Because I really didn't know if I could just forget that.

I walked over to him, leaning against his side as usual. But this time, I could see the way he was hesitant to put his arm around me, not wanting to overstep his boundaries.

Not that we had any.

I took the strawberry licorice from his hands, ripped it open and walking backwards away from him. He smiled, "how do you know that that's meant for you?"

I shrugged, still walking backwards.

He walked after me, catching up. I tripped over a crack in the pavement and almost fell, but he caught me.

He held me for a few moments longer than normal before letting me go and walking towards school.

At school, I put my things in my locker as Gemma practically interrogated me.

"So what's going on?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. He was acting as if it never happened this morning."

She smiled. "So you know what you should do? Go snog his face off." She said the last part very seriously, and I knew she meant it.

I rolled my eyes at her. "I can't just go 'snog his face off', Gem. I think he wishes he'd never kissed me, anyways,"

It was her turn to roll her eyes at me. "Please tell me you're kidding me. You know what I think? I think he thinks that _you_ wish he hadn't kissed you, so he's trying to pretend he never did."

I laughed dryly. "I think you're full of it."

She closed her locker door loudly. "I think I am an undiscovered genius."

I rested my head on my folded arms, blowing a stray lock of hair out of my eyes. History seemed never ending today.

A scrunched up piece of paper hit the back of my head, but I ignored it. Liam had been doing that all lesson, so I didn't bother to turn around.

Katelyn, the girl sitting at the desk across from me, nudged me in the rubs before handing me a piece of paper.

I looked at her, confused, but she just shrugged, pointing to the corner of the room.

A turned to look where she was pointing, and saw none other than Paul Tatum waving at me.

I resisted the urge to groan, turning back around and picking up the piece of paper. I looked at it as if it deeply offended me, finally getting up the nerve to open it.

_Stay after class a second. I want to talk._

I rolled me eyes. I could see where this was going. But I figured I could let him down easy, tell him I wasn't interested.

I turned around, nodding at him apprehensively. He smiled, and I turned back around.

I didn't notice that Liam had stopped throwing paper, nor did I notice the devastated expression on his face.

After the bell rang, I stayed in my seat, waving goodbye to Gemma and Katelyn. Liam came over to my desk, waiting for me as per usual.

I smiled at him. "I'm fine. I'll meet you at the table."

Liam looked over to the corner of the room, where Paul still sat. "Come on, Ella." He insisted, holding out his hand.

I gave him a pointed look. "I'll meet you at the table, Liam."

It was then that I saw the hurt look in his eyes and rethought my actions. I wished there was some way that I could tell him what was going on, because I knew that he was probably coming to the wrong conclusion.

He retracted his outstretched hand, picking my bag up and walked away without a second glance.

Paul slowly got up out of his seat and walked over to me. I rose from my seat, meeting him cautiously.

He smiled arrogantly, my stomach turning. I just wanted to get this over and done with.

After letting him down gently and telling him that I really wasn't interested, I left him in the classroom to go find Liam.

He was standing at my locker, my bag at his feet.

I picked up my bag, but he took it off me before I could sling it over my shoulder, carrying it for me.

I bit my lip, opening my mouth to explain, but he cut me off.

"You promised" he accused quietly.

I frowned before catching on. "Liam, it's not like that. At all."

He came to a stop on the sidewalk, glaring at me. "Then explain to me why you were waiting behind after class for _Paul freaking Tatum_?" His voice rose, quickly becoming full of anger.

I stared at him, surprised at his reaction. "It's not like that, Liam. I was telling him that nothing would ever happen between us."

"You're full of it" he snapped.

Fury clouded my mind and I snapped back at him. "Why would you care anyways? It's not like you want me."

He glared at me. "Are you blind? Of course I bloody want you!"

I glared back, feeling tears of hurt and anger beginning to form in my eyes, threatening to spill over. "Yes, that's why you walked away after you kissed me."

"You didn't kiss me back!"

"You didn't give me a chance to, you ran away!"

He glared at me, tossing my bag at my feet and turning his back on me.

I left the bag there, shouting after him as a tear slid down my cheek. "So, what? You're just going to run away again? Way to go, Liam."

He whirled around, walking back to me. I had no idea what he was going to do until he gripped my hips, roughly pulling me closer and pressing his lips to mine.

This time, I registered what was going on and kissed back, my fingers threading into his hair.

He raised his hand to wipe away the tear with his thumb before cupping my cheek and deepening the kiss.

"Get a room, little ones!" We both pulled away, looking over to see Louis laughing at us. I felt my cheeks go bright red, taking Liam's hand and pulling his towards my house, grabbing my bag as I did.

Inside, we both stood awkwardly for a moment before he wrapped his arms around me. "I'm sorry for being a prat back there" he murmured, stroking my hair.

I rested my head on his chest, sighing. "You _were_ a prat" I agreed, getting a laugh out of him.

We cuddled up on the couch, watching movies for the rest of the night. My parents were still on their work trip, so Liam stayed over again. This time, though, he didn't bother to even try to sleep in the guest room.

We lay in my bed, with my leg hitched up over his hip. I sighed, resting my head on the pillow.

He smiled, rolling over so that he above me, leaning all of his weight on his arms.

I smiled, leaning up to kiss him chastely.

He shook his head innocently. "Not enough."

I giggled and he leant down to kiss me again.

I pulled him impossibly closer, entwining my fingers into his hair.

He slid his hands up my sides, bringing my shirt up slightly along as well. He clutched at the skin of my waist, deepening the kiss.

I tugged at his shirt, pulling it up and over his head, breaking the kiss for a second.

He smiled shyly, brushing my hair off my shoulders and kissing me again.

It should've been awkward lying underneath my best friend with only a tight shirt and miniscule pyjama shorts on, but it _really_ wasn't.

One of his hands slid around the curve of my waist, pulling me closer.

I sighed, playing with the little frays of hair at the nape of his neck.

He broke the kiss, tucking a lock of hair behind my ear.

"We should probably get to sleep" he murmured, pressing another chaste kiss to my lips.

I nodded, cuddling up to him, his arms around me.


	3. Chapter 3

The town that Liam and I live in is relatively boring, 'picturesque' you might say. The one really good thing about our town, though, is the annual fair.

It was held in the fields on the outskirts of town, the only space big enough for it.

Liam and I walked through the lined up booths, Liam coming to a stop at the high striker.

He let go of my hand so that he could play, handing over his money to the stall worker.

He picked up the mallet and walked over to the tower, looking over his shoulder at me and winking.

I smiled as he raised the mallet above his head, his muscles tensing as he brought it down with as much force as he could onto the base. The puck was propelled up the tower, hitting the bell and signifying that he had indeed won.

He smiled triumphantly, reaching out for my hand.

I giggled, cuddling up to him as we went to receive his prize.

"So, what do you want?" The stall worker asked, gesturing at the thousands of prizes. There were stuffed animals, cheap jewellery, novelty hats, and lots more useless junk. The only things worth having in my eyes were the stuffed animals. And possibly the novelty hats, that would look cute on Liam.

Liam asked for a stuffed teddy bear, handing it to me. I smiled, kissing his cheek. He looked satisfied, leading me over towards the Ferris wheel.

Once on the Ferris wheel, Liam pulled me into his side, wrapping his arms around me.

I cuddled up to him, hugging the teddy to my chest.

He looked down at me, smiling. I blushed under his gaze, hiding my face in his chest.

He placed his hand on my cheek, lifting up my face so that I was looking at him. He stroked my cheek with his thumb before leaning down to kiss me.

I slid my hands up his chest before wrapping them around his neck, kissing him for a long moment before pulling away, biting my lip and blushing even more than before.

After the Ferris wheel, we headed over to the bumper cars, the glint in Liam's eyes telling me that even though we were dating now, he was still going to kick my butt.

I raced him to get the purple car, beating him and smiling victoriously.

"Still going to beat you" he murmured in my ear before kissing me on the cheek and getting into the next available car.

As soon as the ride started, Liam and I were at it. I laughed as he messed up with his steering, losing control of the wheel for a second as he tried to turn around. I bumped my car into his, veering out of his way and speeding off.

We spent the next ten minutes trying to hit each other, but in the end we had tied.

He placed his arm around my shoulder as I continued to laugh while we walked off the ride.

Next on the agenda was the haunted house ride, something Liam knew from experience I was terrified of.

I whimpered as our carriage started moving, Liam trying not to laugh at me as he had in previous years.

I shifted closer to Liam, screaming when a skeleton fell down from the ceiling and hung in front of us.

The next time something scared me, Liam laughed lightly, pulling me closer so that I was practically sitting in his lap.

"You're evil," I accused. "Laughing at me when I'm scared."

It was too dark to see, but I knew that he was smiling.

"It's just funny because this ride is practically the same every year yet you're always scared."

I rolled my eyes, aware that he couldn't see it. "You should be relishing this, it's a chance to be Mr. Masculine and protect me."

He tightened his arms around me. "I never said I didn't like it, just that I found it funny, and in turn, cute."

I blushed, cursing his ability to make all the blood in my body rush to my face.

Once I had screamed myself out and the ride was over, Liam helped me out of the carriage. We walked over to the second field, finding a spare spot to sit down. One of the things that made the carnival so great was the fireworks show at the end of it.

We watched as the first firework went off, doubling in size as it flew up into the air.

Soon the air was filled with the sound of fireworks going off, and I settled in between Liam's legs, leaning against him as he wrapped his arms around me.

He leant down to murmur in my ear as the fireworks exploded above us. "I love you, Ella."

I sat up straighter, turning around to face him. He just smiled at me, blushing for a rare moment.

I leant in, kissing him softly for a few seconds. "I love you too" I said, biting my lip.

I leant back into his chest, relishing the feel of his arms around me as the final fireworks went off.

Liam unlocked his front door, holding it open for me. I smiled, walking past him inside the house.

"Ella! I haven't seen you around for a few days!" Liam's mum hugged me tightly, rubbing my back before taking a step back. "Did you get prettier?"

Liam groaned, prying me from his mother's arms. "It's my job to call her pretty, Mum, not yours."

I laughed, letting Liam pull me away from his mother. "What time are you and Dad going out, Mum?"

She smiled, "when your Dad gets home, Mr. Pushy."

He nodded, already pulling me towards the stairs. "We'll be upstairs."

I smiled, waving as Liam hurriedly tugged me up the stairs.

Liam shut the door behind us, locking it.

"Your mum's right, you are Mr. Pushy today."

He smiled, taking my face in his hands. "I apologise profusely, love." He kissed me softly for a few seconds, brushing his thumb across my cheek before pulling away.

I smiled. "Yeah, yeah, you're forgiven."

I made myself comfortable on Liam's bed, turning on his TV. I wrinkled my nose at what was playing, getting off the bed to put on a DVD.

Liam kicked off his shoes, lying down next to me. "The Little Mermaid, your favourite."

I cuddled up to Liam, resting my head on his chest. He played with my hair, pulling it out of its ponytail.

"Excuse me," I murmured, but he just ignored me as he played with a curly lock of my hair.

We watched the movie for a half hour, a knock on Liam's bedroom door distracting us.

"Liam, Ella. We're going out now." Liam's mum called out, Liam getting up off of the bed to kiss his mother goodbye.

I hugged his mum and dad good bye, lying back on Liam's bed as they left for the night.

Liam lay down next to me, flinging his arm over my stomach and nuzzling his face into the crook of my neck.

I giggled, as he placed a kiss on my neck.

He leaned up, kissing me quickly and hugging me closer to him, my back to his chest.

A half hour later and Liam was complaining that he was hungry.

"Well go make something then" I told him, running my fingers through his hair.

"There's nothing to make" he whined.

I gave in, sitting up and bringing him with me.

"Come on, then."

Twenty minutes later, and I stood in the kitchen, surrounded by the ingredients required for cupcakes.

Liam was, at the moment, eating the mixture out of the bowl and just generally interfering as much as he could.

He crept up behind me, one hand finding its way to my hip.

I turned around, only to have cake batter smeared across my cheek.

"Liam!" I scolded, dipping my hand into the bowl and wiping it on his chin.

He tutted, smearing more batter on my cheek.

"Stop it!" I squealed, as he again wiped batter on the corner of my mouth. "Liam James Payne!"

"Danielle Celia Pieterse!" He wiped the batter from my cheek, smirking at me. "I'll get the last bit."

He leant down, kissing me. I wiped the bit of batter off of his chin, giggling.

He pulled away, kissing my nose. "I love you."

I smiled. "I love you too. Even though you're terrible to cook with."

He grinned, kissing me again as I leant against the counter.

He took a step closer, ensuring that I was pressed up against the kitchen bench. He slid his arm around my waist, the other resting on my cheek. He moved his hand off of my waist for a second to clear a space on the counter.

I held back a squeal as he lifted me up onto the bench. He stood in between my legs, moving his hand to my waist once again.

I pulled away, giggling. "We have cupcakes to make, Liam."

He nodded, kissing me again briefly. "Well, you do. You're the cook." He winked at me, helping me down off the counter.

An hour later and Liam had successfully eaten about a third of the batch of cupcakes.

I stared at him, shaking my head, amazed at his capacity to eat.

He smiled at me, his mouth full of cupcake.

He swallowed. "Still love me?"

I laughed, taking the cupcake out of his hands. "I have no idea why, but yes."

He frowned. "You have no idea why?"

I brushed his hair out of his eyes. "I was only joking. There are a billion reasons why I love you, Liam."

He smiled. "Good. Maybe one day I'll get you to tell me all of them."

I rolled my eyes. "Only if you tell me your reasons."

He smirked. "I don't think we'd have enough time for me to tell you all the reasons why I love you."


	4. Chapter 4

I moved out of a woman's way, holding onto Liam's hand as we navigated the crowded shopping centre.

Christmas carols filled the air, green and red tinsel hanging everywhere.

Liam tugged on my hand, pulling me into a store.

"You know, Christmas shopping almost ruins Christmas for me."

Liam pouted at me, giving me his best puppy dog eyes.

I laughed. "You can't just give me those big brown eyes and expect it to make everything okay."

He continued with his pouting, taking hold of my waist.

I smiled. "Okay, maybe you can."

An hour later and we had gotten presents for my parents, Liam's parents, all the Tomlinson's and Gemma.

"We've gotten presents for everyone but each other, Liam. And we can't get those now for obvious reasons. Where are you taking me now?" Liam didn't answer, he just smiled and continued to drag me wherever it was he was taking me.

He lead me into the toy store, smiling at me innocently.

I laughed. "This I'm totally okay with."

We spent the next hour in the toy store, Liam falling in love with a buzz lightyear toy and me begging to keep a Teddy bear that was big enough for me to sit in it's lap.

Once we got back to my house, we proceeded to wrap all the presents we had bought. I finished before Liam, and went on to gift wrap him, putting a bow in his hair and everything.

After Liam had succeeded in getting the bow out of his hair, he helped me get the Christmas tree and decorations out. Well, really, he got everything out. I just watched.

We scattered the tree decorations on the floor before putting them on the tree.

I had promised that I would babysit the family across the street's baby girl tonight, and they had said it was fine for me to bring Liam with me. They'd known the both of us since we were born, afterall.

Liam brought his guitar with him, setting it against the dining table.

Baby Lily wasn't a very temperamental baby, so we spent most of the night on the couch, Lily lying on my torso while I lay in Liam's arms.

Soon enough though, Lily started to cry. I put her down in her crib, after trying and failing to calm her down. Normally she was relatively easy to calm down, but tonight she just didn't want to.

Liam brought his guitar into Lily's room, sitting down in the rocking chair and setting the guitar on his lap.

He made up the song as he played, pulling funny faces until Lily was giggling like a mad woman and clapping her hands.

Once Liam had sung Lily to sleep, we went back downstairs and curled up on the couch.

"You know, you've never sung me to sleep" I said, pretending to complain.

He kissed my temple, "I'm so sorry. I promise to sing you to sleep sometime."

I giggled, turning my head around to kiss him. "You were really cute with Lily" I said, approving of his earlier actions.

"I'm gonna be the best Dad" he smiled at me and I laughed.

"I'm sure you will be."

He smiled, kissing the top of my head.

I groaned as one of the books on the top shelf of my locker threatened to fall, quickly pushing it back into place on the shelf.

Gemma stood next to me, leaning against her closed locked door. "Hurry, Ella. I want to leave." She dragged out 'leave', wanting to get of campus and have it be official that we were on break.

I took her arm, leading her out of the hall and down the stone steps that were the entrance to our school.

"Where's your boyfriend?" She questioned, pulling her arm out of my grasp and linking it through mine instead.

"Right here" came Liam's voice from behind us as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder. I smiled at him, while Gemma just muttered something about needing a lad of her own.

We went our separate way to Gemma, walking off to my street. As usual, my parents were on a work trip and had left me to fend for myself. I wasn't even mad, I was used to it.

We threw our bags down on the couch, going to the kitchen in search of food.

I sat on the counter top while Liam dug through the fridge and pantry, kicking my shoes off onto the floor and resisting the temptation to lie down on the table top.

I finally gave in, lying down with my legs still dangling off the table and closing my eyes.

The sound of Liam raiding my fridge stopped and some form of food was placed on the table top.

Liam pushed my curly hair out of my face. "Ella, while I find that position very flattering, it does restrict your ability to eat."

I smiled, scrunching my nose up and sitting upright.

Liam smoothed my skirt down, kissing my forehead. He held up a packet of cookies. "Food" he announced.

I laughed, jumping down off the counter. I walked back into the living room, moving our bags from the couch to the floor. I lay down on the couch, covering my mouth with my hand to mask my yawn.

Liam lifted up my feet so that he could sit down, resting them on his lap once he was comfortable.

We watched Toy Story one and two, Liam making me giggle by quoting things in my ear, now lying down with me in his arms.

"Be my Jessie?" he asked, and I laughed.

I sat up, putting my hand to my heart. "I would be honoured."

Liam laughed, taking my hand and pulling me back down next to him.

Near the end of the movie, my phone went off. I groaned, not wanting to get up. Liam just laughed, maneuvering himself off the couch. "I'll get it."

I smiled, trusting him with my text messages. "That's my Liam". He rolled his eyes, picking up my phone before climbing over me and resuming his position on the couch.

He held the phone so that he was both holding me and showing me the screen, opening the message so that we could read it.

The message was from an unknown number, but the first line of the text revealed who it was.

_Ella, it's Paul._

I rolled my eyes, exiting the text message. "Ew, how does he have my number?"

Liam was silent for a minute before saying, "better yet, why is he texting you?"

I shrugged. "Who knows? Who cares?"

"Obviously he does" he grumbled.

I sighed, turning my head to face him. "Really, Liam? Are you going to make a big deal out of this?"

He frowned. "What, am I not allowed to be annoyed that some other guy, who's interested in my girlfriend, is texting said girlfriend of mine?"

I groaned, getting up off the couch. "Liam, seriously. I don't know why he texted me and I don't care. End of story."

He stood up, clenching his jaw. "No, not end of story. I don't like the fact that some prat from school, who would just love to get in your pants, is texting you."

I ran my fingers through my hair, letting out a frustrated sigh. "Who cares if he wants to get in my pants, Liam? He's not going to!"

He scoffed. "He's still a prick and I don't want you talking to him!"

I glared at him. "So now you control who I can and can't talk to?"

"No, that's not what I meant and you know it."

"All I know right now is that you're acting like more of a prick than Paul."

He stared at me for a second. "You don't mean that. You know Paul's a jerk, and you know I'm right."

I picked up Liam's bag, holding it out to him. "I think you should go home, Liam." I pushed the bag into his hands, my voice icy cold.

He reached out for me. "Ella…"

I stepped away. "No, Liam. You have to leave."

He ran his fingers through his hair, nodding solemnly. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

I shook my head. "I don't think so."

He walked to the door, looking behind him at me before walking away.

I shut and locked the door before sitting down on the couch, a rush of anger causing me to throw my phone at the armchair across the room, the cushions on it ensuring that it didn't break.

I lay down, pulling the blanket from the back of the couch on top of me, wondering if that little spat counted as a break up.


	5. Chapter 5

I hugged my pillow tighter to me, all of me hidden underneath my blankets.

I had woken up two hours ago, but I had nothing better to do, so I lay there, my mind still reeling from the fight last night.

I had left my phone downstairs, knowing that I would get about a trillion messages from Liam. I also knew that if I didn't get those messages, I'd be even more depressed than I was now.

A knock on the door caught my attention, but I left it unanswered. Eventually I heard the key turn in the lock and knew that it could only be one of two people. Liam, even though he wanted my forgiveness, wouldn't dare let himself in at a time like this. That only left one person that the footsteps on the staircase could belong to.

"Tell me all about it."

Gemma climbed into the spare side of my bed, securing the blankets over both our heads and enclosing us in our own little world.

I hugged my pillow tighter still to my chest. "Liam and I had a fight last night."

She frowned. "Over what?"

I sighed. "Paul sent me a text and Liam went off about how he's a jerk and he doesn't want him texting me."

Gemma raised an eyebrow. "Do you disagree that he's a jerk? And please tell me you don't _want_ him texting you."

I nearly laughed. "No, he was right. It's just, he was acting as if he had the right to tell me who I can and can't talk to."

She rested her head on one of my other pillows. "I'm sure he didn't mean it that way, Ella."

"Still…"

"Danielle Celia Pieterse, don't be cruel."

I groaned. "I'm not being cruel. I'm just not being too forgiving."

She sighed. "As long as you forgive him eventually. Because you two are really cute together."

I laughed at her plain view of things before sighing. Gemma leant over, hugging me. "It'll be fine, Elle."

We spent the next few hours eating ice cream in front of the TV, still wrapped up in the blankets that I had brought down from my bed.

Eventually, Gemma had to leave for a big family dinner. She gave me a long hug, telling me that it would all work out.

I spent the next hour in my room, staring at the photos of Liam and me on my wall. We'd been best friends pretty much since birth, and we'd had plenty of fights before.

There was the time when we were four, and he kissed me. I had run home, crying to my mother about how he had given me cooties. She had just laughed, telling me that I'd be all perfect again once I'd had a bath.

Or the time when we were five and Liam had told another boy who tried to hold my hand that I was his girlfriend, and that we were going to get married when we were older. I had had a giant crush on the other boy, so I ended up slapping Liam. He forgave me ten minutes later, though.

We were in different classes when we were seven, so we didn't spend as much time together at school. But we still walked home together and saw each other every minute we weren't in school. But when we had to pick basketball teams in school, he didn't choose me and I ended up crying in the girls toilets. A girl in Louis' grade had found me and comforted me.

When we were twelve, he had yelled at me to go away when he was talking to some older boys. I had declared to Louis that I would never talk to him again. But when he showed up on my doorstep, covered in bruises, I had caved. Turns out those boys had beaten him up, and he hadn't wanted them to hurt me too.

We'd been through our ups and downs, but we'd always worked things out. I traced the letters on the note Liam had given me when we were thirteen, asking me to be his valentine, and couldn't help but smile. The pictures each held their own stories too. Like the one of Liam and me covered from head to toe in mud, after trying to give his dog a bath.

Or the one of us at the beach while on holiday with our families when we were thirteen. We had snuck out and walked down the boardwalk, and Liam had ended up giving me my first proper kiss before buying me a friendship bracelet and telling me we'd always be best friends.

I walked back downstairs, turning on the TV. Toy Story was playing on the current channel, so I instantly changed it to something less heartbreaking.

Someone knocked at the door, and I got up to answer it. I opened it, surprised to see Liam standing there, looking dejected and as heartbroken as I felt.

"I know you probably don't want to see me, but please."

I sighed. "Liam…"

He cut me off, taking my hands in his. "Please, Ella. I know I acted like a jerk, but I take it all back. Just forgive me. Please."

I slowly pulled my hands out of his grasp. "I know everything can't be perfect, Liam. But I have to believe that it can be. Just so that fighting for it makes sense."

He reached out for me again. "Everything _can_ be perfect, Ella."

I took a step back. "Not if you're getting mad everytime another boy talks to me."

The pain in his eyes was visible as he stopped trying to form some kind of physical contact between us. "It's just him I don't like, I swear."

"And I don't like him either, but there'll be other Paul's, Liam. And you can't just forbid me from talking to any other guy who shows a bit of interest in me. You have to trust that I'll never love anyone as much as I love you."

"I love you" he said sadly, his only argument left.

"I love you too. I just need time to forgive you."

"But I don't want to give you that time. Just today was painful enough."

I sighed, "night, Liam." I went to shut the door, but he stopped it from closing.

"Please."

I gently took his hand off the door, closing and locking it, trying to hold in my tears until I was safely away from hearing and seeing distance.

I woke up a few hours later on the couch, taking my blanket and making my way upstairs to my bed. I realised that I had left the porch light on from when Liam had been here, going to turn it off.

The sight of Liam still sitting on the porch steps stopped me in my tracks. He sensed me standing there, looking up hopefully. It took all my strength to turn off the light, tears spilling down my cheeks once again as I practically ran upstairs to my bed.

In the shower the next morning, I sat under the stream of water, resting my head against the tiled wall. The hot water soothed my aching head and left me sleepy, ready to topple over the edge of consciousness.

After showering, I lay on my bed in my towel, trying not to fall asleep but not really caring if I did or not.

I wasn't used to feeling like this. I was always that happy girl, the one that didn't let things get to her. But fighting with Liam was one of the worst experiences I'd ever had. And all I could think about was his face as I turned off the light last night. Everytime I closed my eyes I saw his big betrayed brown eyes and I felt like crying all over again.

It had taken this fight for me to see just how much Liam meant to me. The fact that all I wanted to do right now was find him and hug him proved that I really did love him. I was all out of fight, I just wanted to surrender.

I stood up, clutching my towel to my chest. I got dressed as quickly as possible, letting my hair dry into the usual messy curls.

I near ran down the stairs, snatching my bag from off of the dining table. I walked as fast as I could to the door, opening it and stopping in my tracks.

Liam sat in the same spot as last night, fast asleep as he sat propped up against the wall. I dropped my bag on the floor next to the door, gaping at him. He'd really spent the night on my doorstep? I slowly crept over to his side, kneeling down next to him.

I reached out to touch his shoulder, gently shaking him.

"Liam? Liam, wake up." I spoke as gently as possible, my voice a mere whisper.

I leant in until my lips were at his ear, speaking directly into it. "Baby, wake up."

Liam moved slightly, but didn't wake up. I pushed his messy hair out of his eyes, glad that the trees outside my house had hid him from sight as he slept. I still couldn't believe he'd slept there.

My hands rested on his shoulders, and I gently shook him again until his eyes started to open.

He groaned, my best guess being that he ached from his uncomfortable sleeping position. He yawned before opening his eyes, taking a second to realise that I was there.

He sat up straight, reaching out for me. "Ella?"

I nodded, my hands still on his shoulders. "Hey Liam."

He stood up, tugging me up with him, and pulled me into his arms, holding me to him tightly.

"I love you" he said over and over again, but unlike last night I said it right back everytime.

I lead him outside, my purpose for leaving unnecessary now. We lay down on the couch, pulling the blanket over us.

"I'm so sorry about what I said" he murmured, kissing the top of my head.

I shook my head. "I overreacted. I didn't want to be a pushover so I acted like a bitch." I turned over in his arms, resting my head in the crook of his neck.

"I love you, Danielle."

I smiled. He used my full name rarely, and I knew that he was using it now as ways of telling me that he really really did.

"I love you too, Liam."

He tightened his arms around me, running his fingers through my hair.

I looked up at him as he leant down to kiss me. But this kiss was different. Generally, it was just that. A kiss. No promise of anything more behind it. But I guess our fight had a big effect on Liam too.

He pulled away, silently asking me if we should do this. I nodded, biting my lip.

Being typically Liam-like, he picked me up as soon as we were standing, cradling me in his arms. He carried me upstairs, laying me down on the bed.

Later, I lay in Liam's arms on the bed, slowly falling asleep. Liam had fallen asleep a few minutes ago, leaving me to my thoughts.

In a way, the fight had been good for us. It had brought us closer, and made us realise just how much we needed each other.

Sometimes it takes being apart from someone to realise just how much you need to be with them.


	6. Chapter 6

A loud bang cut through the air and the sickly smell of gunpowder consumed my nostrils.

I groaned, seeing Liam holding the bigger half of the bonbon. He smiled, unfolding the Christmas hat and placing it on my head.

I laughed, straightening it and tucking a stray lock of hair behind my ear.

Liam unfurled the tiny piece of paper that held yet another cheesy Christmas joke, winking at his four year old cousin before telling it. His cousin laughed like it was the funniest thing he'd ever heard.

It had only been told _three_ times previous, _of course_ it was still funny.

Liam's mum, returning to the table, sat down next to me and placed a can of lemonade in front of me. I smiled, thanking her.

Liam and I had spent yesterday with my family, and had spent the night at his parents. Now twenty-five, we lived together in our own apartment. We had moved to London for University, preferring to live in the city than in our small village.

One of Liam's cousins, Cassie, tugged at the hem of my dress, wanting to be picked up. I smiled, lifting her up onto my lap. "Hello, Little One."

She giggled, singing along to the Christmas carol that was playing on the background. I sung along too, bouncing her up and down.

Liam wrapped his arm around my waist, resting his head on my shoulder and singing along as well.

I rolled my eyes at him, smoothing down his wavy hair.

Cassie scrambled off my lap, going around the table and making sure everyone had a Christmas hat on. She frowned at Liam so, like the dutiful girlfriend I was, I picked up one that had been left on the table and placed it on his head, smiling at Cassie.

After Christmas dinner, we were all so full of food that we just went to sleep. Liam slept on the couch, after a long debate about how I wasn't going to deprive him of his own bed. I had finally given in, going to sleep in his bed.

After everyone was asleep, Liam crawled into bed beside me, pulling me onto his arms and kissing the top of my head. "Liam, what do you think you're doing?"

He kissed my cheek, pulling me closer. "Defying my parents."

I rolled my eyes, laughing. He smiled smugly and kissed my forehead.

The next day Liam's mum insisted on going to the Boxing Day sales. After twenty minutes, both Liam and I had succeeded in getting ourselves lost.

After passing the same coffee shop three times, one of the waiters had clued in to what was going on.

"You just missed him. He was here less than a minute ago" he called out to me. I groaned, thanking him before speaking into my phone.

"Liam, stay where you are. I think I've found you." I hurried around the corner in the direction the waiter had shown me.

"Wait!" I halted at the sound of Liam's voice. "I think I heard you."

I couldn't help but laugh, realising that Liam had come full circle and was now at the coffee shop.

I spotted a toy shop to my right and smiled. "Ooh, the toy store. Maybe I'll just wait there."

Liam laughed. "You're silly."

I laughed, finally coming back to the coffee shop. I walked up behind him, wrapping my arms around his neck. "No, you're silly."

He smiled, turning around and hugging me.

That night, we slept at Liam's parents' house again. We'd be going back to London in the morning.

We kept the sleeping arrangements from last night, Liam sleeping on the couch until everyone was asleep. He crept into the room after eleven, dragging me out of bed. I had just enough time to grab my ugg boots, still partially asleep.

He led me to the field at the end of the street, pulling me along until we stood at the base of the tree in the centre of it.

Liam wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me close. "Do you remember this tree?"

I nodded, still half asleep, resting my head against his chest. "It's our tree."

Liam dragged me closer to the tree. "Come on, Elle."

I let him help me up into the tree before climbing up until there was a big enough branch for both of us to sit.

Liam took his time, looking at every branch he passed. I didn't ask why, waiting for him to reach me.

He stopped, sitting where he was. "Here it is." He looked up at me, gesturing for me to come down.

I climbed down until I was just above him, waiting for him to tell me what was here.

He pointed to a carving in the branch, initials inside a heart.

I smiled, tracing over the familiar initials. "How old were we when you put this here?"

He shrugged, "thirteen I think".

I smiled, wrapping my arms around his neck and resting my chin on his shoulder. "We were thirteen when you first kissed me too."

He looked up at me. "What about when we were four?"

I laughed. "That hardly counts. You also said we were going to get married when we were five, did that count?"

He smiled. "I've always known what I wanted."

I laughed, leaning down to kiss him. "I love you."

He grinned. "I love you too." He looked down at his watch. "We should get home soon."

I nodded, making my way down the tree and onto the ground.

Liam jumped down after me. "There's just one thing I have to do before we go home, though."

I turned around, confused, only to see him down on one knee. I gasped, putting two and two together.

He pulled a box out of his pocket, smiling at me. "I said I've always known what I wanted, and it's true. It's always been you, Danielle."

One of my hands covered my mouth while the other wiped away tears. I just wanted to get to the part where I said yes.

"Will you marry me?"

"Yes," I practically screamed. He stood up, pulling me into his arms and spinning me around.

He put the ring on my finger, kissing me like I'd just made him the happiest man on earth.


End file.
